We can't lose perspective, Barca can overturn a 4:0 deficit against a "weakened" Bayern team (do not forget the return leg vs Arsenal, even the Germany - Sweden game in Berlin is still fresh in my mind as some of the same players will be on the field), just answer this question: Is Barca capable of scoring 2 early goals at home against a Bayern side without Schweinsteiger and Martinez in the middle? I think it is a possibility, and with a 2:0 after 30 or 35 min of play Bayern could be in panic mode and Barca inspired at home, at that point bringing on the key players from the bench might not reverse the game.

The Plan should be a full strength squad regardless of suspension threats (let's take a game at a time) try to score in the 1st half which will force Barca to score 6, then bench some of those at risk and play it safe with the others. If the game goes to half time with Bayern in the scoreboard or 0:0 Barca will have to go with everything forward and they will leave huge holes on the back that our offensive players will use to make damage, it will be the same scenario that exposed them vs Chelsea las year in the return leg, players like Gustavo, Pizarro or Shaquiri coming off the bench can sink Barca even deeper in that scenario while we can preserve our players on the verge of suspension.

I've been losing sleep about this game. We can play a full strength side against Barca and risk suspensions for the final, or we can play a second string side and risk not reaching the final. Personally, I think the second option lacks the risks of the first one, but not by much. Dante put it best when he said that if Bayern can beat Barca 4-0, the opposite can happen. I think the best idea would be...Neuer - Lahm, Van Buyten, Boateng, Alaba - Gustavo, Schweinsteiger - Robben, Muller, Ribery - MandzukicIf we get through the first 45 minutes OK, we can put Tymo on for Schweinsteiger and Rafinha on for Lahm. I also would like to point out that these players are more worried about it than we are, and that they'll be sure not to get themselves suspended. This game will lack the intensity of the first game due to the result, and I'm pretty confident that any player of ours will succeed in Jupp's tactics.

dambun wrote:Damn UEFA with their stupid regulations...yellow cards should be erased at some point...

The irony in all this seems to be that UEFA calls for “financial fair play”. How can that be possible when the yellow card rule is designed to decimate teams that are progressing in the competition? Based on this formula the big spenders will always have an advantage as they could have super unused subs as lifelines.

I also find interesting that they implement a strict yellow card suspension system but the referees use completely different standards. In the Barca-Bayern game there were yellow cards shown for almost no reason, in other cases blatant violations went unsanctioned, then you watch the Dortmund – Madrid games and there were players laying on the ground almost missing limps after clear fouls were committed and no yellow cards: not even a whistle was blown. In this case, the team progressing from one Semifinal will have a clear advantage over the other since the refereeing standard was different.

It wouldn't suck nearly as much, though, as not reaching the final at all would suck.

Not playing Dante at the Camp Nou is a crime, barring injury of course. This dude is crucial in so many ways:

1.) He very, very rarely makes mistakes defensively.2.) His buildup play, offensive positioning and distribution are immaculate.3.) With Badstuber gone (and by now I suspect with Badstuber back, too) he is the undisputed boss of the back-line.

Look at how much directing and shouting he is doing during the matches. There are reasons why he has barely missed a single match this year. You simply don't bench a player like that. And watching the final on TV but patting ourselves on the back that had we reached it, Dante would have been eligible... No! Just no!

On the other hand, if we weaken our backline I still trust our forwards to score at least one goal, which means that Barcelona would need to score not 4 but 6 or more (depending on how many goals we score). And they won't realistically score 6.

If we manage to score, I'd immediately sub out Lahm and Schweinsteiger for Rafinha and Tymoshchuk respectively. If we're down 2-0, I'd sub in Dante and possibly Martinez. Seriously, the above starting formation is good enough not to let Barcelona come back from 4-0.

I'll rest Marti and start with Gustavo. Rest all players start. Obviously Mandzu will be back for Gomez so we will most probably be even more better defensively.The YC has been looming on Dante and Lahm for quite sometime now and they've been quite careful not to give into rash challenges.So I think they'll be careful. Dante is needed for sure in this game and the final. Without him the lineup would be completely new and untested.

I'm just hoping Schweini doesn't pick up a card for dissent. He rushes to the ref very quick and that ends bad.

Then maybe sub Schweini out by 60th min when the game should be in hand and bring on Tymo.

'To be successful, you have to give everything.' - Bastian Schweinsteiger

According with the fact we have many conditionated players with yellows cards for me it doesnt matter if we play a 4-1-4-1 formation with Bastian and Martinez in the bench. At this point and knowing a possible Messi resurrection WE CAN'T TAKE UNNECESARY RISKS, we can sacrifice a little of ofensive game but ensure the result...

It wouldn't suck nearly as much, though, as not reaching the final at all would suck.

Not playing Dante at the Camp Nou is a crime, barring injury of course. This dude is crucial in so many ways:

1.) He very, very rarely makes mistakes defensively.2.) His buildup play, offensive positioning and distribution are immaculate.3.) With Badstuber gone (and by now I suspect with Badstuber back, too) he is the undisputed boss of the back-line.

Look at how much directing and shouting he is doing during the matches. There are reasons why he has barely missed a single match this year. You simply don't bench a player like that. And watching the final on TV but patting ourselves on the back that had we reached it, Dante would have been eligible... No! Just no!

Dante is actually the foundation of our solid defensive system. But, you need to take the 4-0 into perspective. It is definitely not impossible for Barca to overturn such deficit at home, as Dante said himself, but it also not impossible for us to score a much-needed goal. Having DvB start alongside Boateng wouldn't be a crime as the big Belgian's anticipation is top notch, and he is as much capable of breaking off Barca's tiki-taka as any other. Of course, his buildup play from the back cannot be compared to Dante's, but that would only mean that Schweinsteiger goes deeper and starts the building up himself.

DvB's weakness is being exposed with a lot of space for the opponent to go at him, and that is not going to happen if we adopt a similar tactic to the one we used at the Allianz. Plus, if any one can take full advantage of Barca's weakness in defending corners, it is DvB. With a 4-goal advantage, I think we take that little risk of keeping our key defender safe for the final. After all, Dortmund (or Real) are exactly the type of opposition that we cannot afford to field a CB duo of Boateng-DvB against.

Jorge wrote:We can't lose perspective, Barca can overturn a 4:0 deficit against a "weakened" Bayern team (do not forget the return leg vs Arsenal, even the Germany - Sweden game in Berlin is still fresh in my mind as some of the same players will be on the field), just answer this question: Is Barca capable of scoring 2 early goals at home against a Bayern side without Schweinsteiger and Martinez in the middle? I think it is a possibility, and with a 2:0 after 30 or 35 min of play Bayern could be in panic mode and Barca inspired at home, at that point bringing on the key players from the bench might not reverse the game.

The Plan should be a full strength squad regardless of suspension threats (let's take a game at a time) try to score in the 1st half which will force Barca to score 6, then bench some of those at risk and play it safe with the others. If the game goes to half time with Bayern in the scoreboard or 0:0 Barca will have to go with everything forward and they will leave huge holes on the back that our offensive players will use to make damage, it will be the same scenario that exposed them vs Chelsea las year in the return leg, players like Gustavo, Pizarro or Shaquiri coming off the bench can sink Barca even deeper in that scenario while we can preserve our players on the verge of suspension.

I agree 100%, we need to finish the job and think one game at a time. Barcelona is not even going to contemplate weakening their side for the same reason and they want to redeem themselves now. FULL STRENGTH AND TOTAL COMMITMENT. I'm sure Dortmund and Madrid have the same dilemma right now and it's not gonna stop them from fielding their best teams.

On the other hand, UEFA needs to change this bullshit. Finals should be exempt of yellow card accumulation suspensions.

MUTU wrote:On the other hand, if we weaken our backline I still trust our forwards to score at least one goal, which means that Barcelona would need to score not 4 but 6 or more (depending on how many goals we score). And they won't realistically score 6.

If we manage to score, I'd immediately sub out Lahm and Schweinsteiger for Rafinha and Tymoshchuk respectively. If we're down 2-0, I'd sub in Dante and possibly Martinez. Seriously, the above starting formation is good enough not to let Barcelona come back from 4-0.

Not a bad approach, if I have to take a guess on who are the players are risk most likely to get booked those are Dante and Martinez, followed by Bastian. Lahm typically is smart about knowing the limits. If we score in the first half and we allow only one or manage to keep a clean sheet I do not mind Tymo playing the last 25-30 minutes for the sake of not risking losing Bastian for the final.

But we are talking in abstract, the course of the game, its rhythm, early developments, the temperature of the stadium, all those will be factors to weigh in for JH. It is not only about us, it is also about them; if they play at the level we put them in Munich there is plenty of room to manage, if they show up a few notches above that we have to respond with our best weapons regardless of who could miss the final.

BayernForum.com is an official fan club of FC Bayern Munich.
The views and opinions expressed within this site are those of the specified authors.
Externally linked content is the property of the relevant copyright holder.